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How did straight party vote impact election?

By MIKE GELLATLY

Nov 10 2012 12:19 am Nov 10 10:28 am

Since Tuesday’s General Election, many questions have been asked about how straight party voting affected the election locally.

In Aiken County, 44 percent of people voted straight party, electing to focus on a party’s candidates en masse, rather than specifically voting for individuals. Here are statistics on some of the more hotly-contested races in Aiken County and how the candidates fared for specific candidate votes versus party votes.

Voter turnout – 67 percent

There were 70,747 votes from 105,086 registered voters

Straight party vote – 44 percent

Republican – 16,746, 53.3 percent

Democrat – 14,243, 45.3 percent

Libertarian – 205, 0.65 percent

Green – 112, 0.36 percent

Constitution – 84, 0.27 percent

Working Families 42, 0.13 percent

Races:

• Aiken County Probate Judge

Judge Sue H. Roe (D)

Total votes – 37,581

Percentage of total from straight party votes – 37.9

Number of specific candidate votes – 23,338

Jane Page Thompson (R)

Total votes – 30,268

Percentage of total from straight party votes – 55.3

Number of specific candidate votes – 13,530

• State Senate District 26

Deedee Vaughters (R)

Aiken County/total votes – 4,160/14,246

Percentage of Aiken County/District votes – 36.8/39.38

Nikki Setzler (D)

Aiken County/total votes – 7,126/21,856

Percentage of Aiken County/votes cast – 63/60.41

• S.C. House of Representatives District 81

Jane Vaughters (P)

Total votes – 6,100

Percentage of total – 34.7

Don Wells (R)

Total votes – 11,454

Percentage of total – 65

Twenty-five percent of the Aiken County electorate voted in the District 81 race. As a petition candidate, Vaughters got no straight party votes. Assuming 25 percent of straight party votes were cast in this district, if they are removed, Wells still would prevail.

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